Adah Isaacs Menken (1835–1868)

Adah Isaacs Menken probably was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, although she obscured the details of her early life. She became the highest earning actress of her time and was known for her charismatic stage presence. Her most sensational performance was in the play Mazeppa, with a climax that featured her apparently nude and riding a horse on stage. After great success with the play in New York and San Francisco, she appeared in a production in London and Paris, from 1864 to 1866. After a brief trip back to the USA, she returned to Europe. Ada also was a painter, poet, and writer. She published about 20 essays, 100 poems, and a volume of her collected poems between 1855 and 1868. She collapsed and died eight days before her last book was published, at about age 33.